The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Crystal Lake can be reffered to in order to estimate when you can plant ruby grass.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

Frost tolerance for ruby grass:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant ruby grass slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Crystal Lake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ruby grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Crystal Lake. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Crystal Lake you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your ruby grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Crystal Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal Lake.